The transplantation of living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another, for example the transplantation of animal organs into human patients.
The use of animal organs for human transplant operations (xenotransplantation) is unlikely to solve the organ shortage problem in the near future, according to the third annual report of the UK Xenotransplantation Interim Regulatory Authority (UKXIRA). The report highlights problems with long-term rejection of animal organs by the human immune...
The USA's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed new regulations for gene therapy researchers, aimed at addressing public concern over the safety of patient trials. Sparked by the outrage that followed the death of teenager Jesse Gelsinger during a gene therapy trial in 1999, the new rules say that...
Scientists in China and Denmark have formed a consortium to sequence the entire pig genome, reports last week's Science. The partners hope the project - the first of its kind to tackle livestock - will benefit pig-breeding industries in both countries. The information would also help xenotransplantation researchers - the potential use of...
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has published its first guidelines on biomedical research on human patients, reports the Lancet. They outlaw research on human cloning, germ-line gene therapy (genetic manipulation of egg, sperm or embryo cells) and xenotransplantation (animal to human organ transplants). The guidelines were issued following...
A new study has prompted fresh concerns over the safety of xenotransplantation - the use of pig organs for human transplants. A team of researchers based at the Scripps Institute, La Jolla, California, found that mice given pig tissue transplants became infected with pig viruses. Their results are available on Nature's...
Two research groups reported successfully cloning pigs last week, using two different variations of the technique used to clone Dolly the sheep. A team based at the National Institute of Animal Industry, Japan, published details of the method it used to clone a pig - called Xena - from an embryo cell...
PPL Therapeutics, the UK firm responsible for cloning Dolly the sheep and the five piglets born last month, is seeking a new partner to develop its first genetically engineered medicine. Ron James, head of PPL, said talks were underway with three 'global players' and five smaller, more specialised drug companies...
Five pigs cloned using nuclear transfer technology - the 'Dolly technique' - were born on 5 March, announced UK firm PPL Therapeutics last week. Genetic tests have proved that the pigs, called Millie, Christa, Alexis, Carrel and Dotcom - are all genetically identical to an adult female pig. The scientists say they now...
PPL Therapeutics, the biotech firm that cloned Dolly the sheep, is close to producing the world's first cloned pigs, according to a report in the Sunday Telegraph. A surrogate sow is due to give birth to three piglets in April, PPL scientists revealed at a biotech conference last week. But...
A British biotechnology company is hoping to begin xenotransplantation trials within a year. Cambridge-based Imutran is holding talks with transplant clinics including one at Harefield hospital. Harefield has cut its transplant programme for hearts and lungs from a peak of 202 operations in 1989 to about 130 last year. The...
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